Feminist Art
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Question
What kind of visual art was there during the time of the feminist movement?
Answer
I will suppose that by "the time of the feminist movement," you mean essentially during the 1960s–1980s, even though feminism of one kind or another has made itself felt in the arts for at least a century–in the choreographic innovations of dancer Isadora Duncan, for example–and continues through today. Feminist art was the subject of WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, an exhibit that originated at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2007 and traveled around the country, including to the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, DC. The exhibit featured 300 works of painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, and performance art from 1965–1980 created by 118 well-known artists, including Judy Chicago, Yoko Ono, Carolee Schneemann, and Cindy Sherman. Feminist art was a "philosophy of art informed by gender," according to Susan Fisher Sterling, the curator of the exhibit at the NMWA. The artists "were throwing off many of the sanitized conceptions of women and expressing overt independence and sexuality in a way that had never been acceptable before." As a gesture toward that, the exhibit curators placed warnings in some portions of the exhibition, advising museum visitors of "potentially disturbing subject matter."
Feminist art was a "philosophy of art informed by gender..."
Curators described the exhibit as, "An edgy account filled with history, passion and scandal, Wack! … addressed such issues as male biases, body image, sexuality and media interpretation of feminism from the perspective of many traditional and controversial artists over several decades." One prominent axiom of feminist art was the notion that the body—especially the female body—was a kind of blank stage or canvas upon which "narratives" or images of various selves were arbitrarily "mapped" or described, often through violence. Like most Modern (and then Postmodern) art of the period, feminist art was immersed in political revolution, in gender, race, and class. The political and cultural agenda of feminist artists was to take control of their destinies and redefine their social roles by a combined assault on—or inversion of—the "patriarchal structures" of culture and politics.
Like most Modern (and then Postmodern) art of the period, feminist art was immersed in political revolution...
Also like most art of the period, feminist art tended to be explicitly self-referential, making the artists the subjects of the works they created, "declarations of self," as performance artist Cheri Gaulke put it. Photographer Cindy Sherman's self-portraits in different personae are examples of this, as are the performance art film events created by Carolee Schneemann, such as her Autobiographical Trilogy, which featured sexually explicit films of herself, or, as evidence that themes of feminist art have continued, Eve Ensler's 1996 play, The Vagina Monologues, or Yale art student Aliza Shvarts' 2008 "creative fiction" about self-inseminations and abortions. Typical of feminist art was a related emphasis on a supposed "woman’s way" of working—meaning, in particular, the forming of collectives or cells of women artists who sought to produce art jointly, and as part of a process of "consciousness raising" among the members of the collectives.
Yet another way to "rescue" women was to honor typically feminine arts and crafts...
Another goal of feminist art was to "rescue" women of a previous day—notably, women artists who had not garnered the critical acclaim they had deserved because they were women, or because the subjects of their art were derived from the domestic realm, such as child-rearing or food preparation, or because the works evinced a particularly "feminine" sensibility. Yet another way to "rescue" women was to honor typically feminine arts and crafts, including, particularly, sewing, weaving, costuming, embroidery, and quilting, and place these in the forefront of the artistic endeavor, rather than in the "lesser" margins, as they had been traditionally. Judy Chicago's 1974 installation piece, The Dinner Party, was influential in stimulating many of these issues within feminist art.
For more information
Cornelia H. Butler and Lisa Gabrielle Mark, WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2007.
Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment
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Website
Description
Access primary sources and activities for a unit on the suffrage movement, from the Seneca Falls Convention to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Article Body
This lesson is anchored by nine primary source documents related to the women's suffrage movement, from 1868 to 1920. Students and teachers alike will appreciate that the site includes images of the original documents—not simply transcriptions.
It also has six teaching activities that range from document analysis, to role-play, to student research. Activity three, which asks students to use textbooks, library resources, and documents to make a timeline, can be an effective way of helping younger students understand historical chronology. For older students, activity six, which asks students to write and stage a one-act play, presents an opportunity to interpret and synthesize primary sources. The script for a one-act play commissioned by the National Archives, "Failure Is Impossible," is available as a model.
This lesson also includes links to related websites, including those from the Library of Congress, the National Park Service, the National Register of Historic Places, and the National Women’s History Project.
Topic
Women's suffrage
Time Estimate
Varies
flexibility_scale
2
Rubric_Content_Accurate_Scholarship
Yes
Rubric_Content_Historical_Background
Minimal
Includes a one-act play based on archival sources.
Rubric_Content_Read_Write
Yes
Students are asked to read multiple documents, and there are opportunities for original student writing based on document analysis.
Rubric_Analytical_Construct_Interpretations
Yes
Activities two and six ask students to assess suffragist strategies and write an evidence-based play, respectively.
Rubric_Analytical_Close_Reading_Sourcing
Yes
Activity one focuses on these skills, and can be paired with a downloadable Document Analysis Worksheet.
Rubric_Scaffolding_Appropriate
Unclear
Audience is unstated.
Rubric_Scaffolding_Supports_Historical_Thinking
No
Teachers may need to supplement the provided materials.
Rubric_Structure_Assessment
No
Rubric_Structure_Realistic
Yes
The lesson is designed for easy adaptation by teachers.
Rubric_Structure_Learning_Goals
Yes
Religious Orders of Women in New France
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Question
What services did women of religious orders provide in New France?
Answer
Women of religious orders were active in New France mainly in founding schools and hospitals. Three religious orders were present almost from the time of the earliest French settlements. Jesuit Relations reports, first published in 1611, inspired many founders of these religious communities to travel to New France. Reports narrated the adventures and trials of the earliest Jesuit missionaries who accompanied French explorers and trappers. The religious orders of women that soon followed established the first schools and hospitals in the colony and were among the first women to arrive in New France. The most important of these communities were:
Ursulines
The Ursulines were the first nuns to arrive in New France, in 1639, led by Marie de l'Incarnation. She and the other Ursulines who accompanied her established a convent in Quebec, where they started the first school for girls in North America. The pupils were both Native and French girls. Ursuline communities and schools spread throughout New France, eventually reaching as far south as New Orleans, where a community was established early in the 18th century. As their communities spread west, they founded schools to educate Native American girls.
Hospitalières de Saint-Joseph
These Augustinian religious women also came to Quebec in 1639 and founded a hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu in Quebec (the first in North America north of Mexico). They staffed another, the Hôtel-Dieu, in Montreal in 1645. The Hospitalières also founded schools for girls, including nursing schools, as well as other institutions to care for the poor and the sick.
Congrégation de Notre-Dame
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys began this noncloistered religious order and, in 1658, established a girls' school in Montreal. This was the first of many boarding schools and day schools run by the order throughout New France. The first bishop of Canada, François de Montmorency Laval, highly encouraged and supported these communities of religious women.
For more information
The Virtual Museum of Canada, Seasons of New France.
Quebec City's Chapelle et Musée de Ursulines.
Ursulines of Canada.
Some from Marie de l'Incarnation to her brother.
Montreal's Musée des Hospitalières de l'Hôtel-Dieu.
Montreal's Marguerite-Bourgeoys Museum, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secour Chapel.
Canada's First Hospital, Hôtel-Dieu of Quebec City.
The Augustinian Sisters and Quebec City's Hôtel-Dieu.
Also very useful for understanding the role of nuns and sisters in New France:
Robert Choquette, "French Catholicism Comes to the Americas," 131- 242, in Charles H. Lippy et al. Christianity Comes to the Americas 1492-1776. New York: Paragon House, 1992.
W. J. Eccles. "The Role of the Church in New France," 26-37 in Eccles, Essays on New France. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1987.
W. J. Eccles. The Canadian Frontier 1534-1760. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983.
Thérèse Germain. Autrefois, les Ursulines de Trois-Rivières: une école, un hôpital, un cloître. Sillery, Quebec: A. Sigier, 1997.
Colleen Gray. The Congrégation de Notre-Dame, Superiors, and the Paradox of Power, 1693-1796. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007.
Dom Claude Martin. La Vie de la Vénérable Mère Marie de l'Incarnation, première supérieure des Ursulines de la Nouvelle France. Paris: L. Billaine, 1677.
Peter N. Moogk. La Nouvelle France: The Making of French Canada: A Cultural History. Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2000.
Marcel Trudel. Les Écolières des Ursulines de Québec, 1639-1686: Amérindiennes et Canadiennes. Montreal: Hurtubise-HMH, 1999.
Bibliography
Library of Congress, France in America, collection of textual sources.
This includes links to the full text of the following:
Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix. History and General Description of New France, 6 vols. New York: Francis P. Harper, 1900.
Chrestien Le Clercq. First Establishment of the Faith in New France, 2 vols. New York: John G. Shea, 1881.
John Gilmary Shea. Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley. Clinton Hall, NY: Redfield, 1852. Vol. 4 of Benjamin Franklin French, ed., Historical Collections of Louisiana.
The Library and Archives of Canada, full text of the 40 volumes of the Jesuit Relations.
An anthology of selections from the Relations:
Allan Greer. The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. Bedford Series in History and Culture.
Images:
Detail of illustration of Marie de l'Incarnation, from Claude Martin, Marie de l'Incarnation, Ursuline de Tours: Fondatrice des Ursulines de la Nouvelle-France.
Marguerite Bourgeoys, Musée Virtuel Canada, "Des saisons en Nouvelle-France."
The Social Museum Collection at Harvard University
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Annotation
Harvard University's Social Museum was established in 1903 as part of the University's newly-formed Department of Social Ethics, devoted to the comparative study of social conditions and institutions in the United States and abroad. This website presents more than 6,000 images from the Social Museum's collection, including photographs, pamphlets, prints, and architectural drawings. Images are available though an extensive search function, with a keyword search, artist list (including photographers Lewis Hine and Francis Benjamin Johnston), and 37 topics (e.g. anarchism, charity, government, health, education, housing, Socialism, and war). Also available is an online exhibit that introduces three of the Social Museum's primary subjects of study: Poor Relief, Social Justice, and Industrial Betterment. This section can serve as an introduction for those unfamiliar with the progressive era and early 20th-century social reform movements in the United States and abroad.
African American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
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This collection presents 1,305 pieces of sheet music composed by and about African Americans, ranging chronologically from antebellum minstrel shows to early 20th-century African-American musical comedies. Includes works by renowned black composers and lyricists, such as James A. Bland, Will Marion Cook, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Bert Williams, George Walker, Alex Rogers, Jesse A. Shipp, Bob Cole, James Weldon Johnson, J. Rosamond Johnson, James Reese Europe, and Eubie Blake. A "Special Presentation: The Development of an African-American Musical Theatre, 1865-1910" provides a chronological overview that allows users to explore "the emergence of African-American performers and musical troupes, first in blackface minstrelsy, and later at the beginnings of the African-American musical stage in the late 1890s."
In addition, sheet music can be studied to examine racial depictions, both visually, on sheet music covers, and in lyrics; styles of music, such as ragtime, jazz, and spirituals; and a variety of topics of interest to popular audiences, including gender relations, urbanization, and wars. Includes a useful 80-title bibliography and 15-title discography. Much of the material is disturbing due to its heavy dependence on racial caricatures; however, students can gain insight into racial attitudes through an informed use of this site.
National Park Service, Teaching with Historic Places
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This useful site offers properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places as teaching tools for history, social studies, geography, or civics classes. It contains more than 75 "classroom ready" lesson plans that include maps, primary source readings, photographs and other images, discussion questions, activities, and projects.
The lesson plans can be browsed by location, theme, and time period, and all are based on sites listed in the National Register. The lesson plans are also arranged by featured topics for popular classroom subjects like Native Americans, women, the Civil War, and maritime history. For example, there are lesson plans for teaching Civil War and civilian memory using the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and a plan for teaching about maritime history using the Fort Hancock site along the New York coast.
The plans cover all time periods in American history, but the site is particularly strong from the Civil War through the Civil Rights movement. An author's packet shows teachers how to devise new lesson plans using National Park Service properties. A "Professional Development" section offers a list of upcoming workshops and presentations as well as a bibliography of more than 150 National Park Service and other publications on teaching history with historic sites. Though the lesson plans are geared toward middle school students, they are easily adaptable to high school or college survey courses. This site is ideal for teachers looking for creative ways to bring historic sites into the classroom.
Famous American Trials: Salem Witchcraft Trials
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Part of a larger "Famous Trials" website created by Douglas Linder of the University of Missouri, Kansas City, Law School, this site provides primary documents and other information on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-93. Linder authored a roughly 1000-word essay on the events in Salem that includes links to biographies of key figures in the trial. The site also offers 18 primary documents concerning the witch trials, including the Reverend Cotton Mather's Memorable Providences, a pamphlet that details an episode of supposed witchcraft by a woman named Goody Glover; an arrest warrent from 1692; seven transcripts of examinations and trial records for accused witches and a sample death warrent. The site also includes approximately 500-word biographies of 17 key figures in the trials, such as accused witches, judges, accusers, and clergy. In addition, there are 14 images of the town of Salem and key figures in the trials. The site offers links to eight related websites and a bibliography of 22 scholarly books and articles and two videos on witchcraft. This site has no index, but is small enough to navigate easily. It is ideal for researching basic information on the Salem Witch trials.
Salem Witchcraft Hysteria: A National Geographic Interactive Site
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Part of the National Geographic Society website, this is an interactive exercise in which the visitor follows a narrative compiled from several Salem witchcraft trial accounts. These trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The site places visitors in the shoes of one of Salem's accused witches, describing conditions in the jail, the ordeal of the trial, and the accused's eventual confession to performing acts of witchcraft. The site also provides links to brief, 100-word biographies of 11 persons involved in the trials, such as young accusers Ann Putnam and Abigail Williams, slave and accused witch Tituba, and Tituba's master, Reverend Samuel Parris. The narrative leads to a positive outcome--the accused is eventually released from prison--but it offers an optional link to discover what may have happened to a prisoner who refused to confess his or her guilt. The site also contains links to a discussion forum and to an "Ask the Expert" page which allows visitors to pose questions to Richard Trask, Danvers, Massachusetts, archivist and curator of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. There is also a four-item bibliography of recent works on the Salem trials. This site contains no primary documents, yet it is useful for conveying to younger secondary school students the sense of the panic that surrounded the trials.
Through Our Parent's Eyes: Tucson's Diverse Community
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The ethnically diverse history of Tucson, Arizona is celebrated here in sections on the Hispanic, Native American, African American, Chinese, and Jewish heritage of the area. A 1000-word essay on the Hispanic history of Tucson is complemented by the four histories, from two to 100 pages, of local families. An exhibit of traditional arts in the Mexican American community includes photographs of houses, piñatas, and ten video clips of low-rider cars. Sources on Native Americans include 12 oral histories (300-600 words), about food and culture. The history of African Americans in the Tucson area from the 16th to the 19th century is recounted in an 1,800-word essay. A collection of 22 biographies (120-800 words) and summarized oral histories offer more personal details of African American life in Tucson. The collection of material about Chinese Americans in Tucson includes four biographies (600-1,200 words) and seven video clips of interviews with a Chinese American woman who grew up in Tucson in the 1940s. The journey made by one Jewish family from Russia in the 19th century to Tucson in the 20th is recounted in a 4,700-word illustrated essay. The site will be useful for research in ethnicity and the history of the west.